In Wonderland
by captainodonewithyou
Summary: While investigating weird readings in an odd little town in Maine, Daisy gets in a riff with the red-leather clad town sheriff and wakes up…well, they definitely aren't in Storybrooke anymore. Daisy, Killian, Lincoln and Emma must work together to get out of the Enchanted Forest and back into the world where they belong.
1. Prologue

This started as a drabble and after many requests I decided to continue it into a full blown fic. This first part is the initial drabble and is written very differently from how the rest will be, hence; prologue.

xxx

From day one they are made–Lincoln can't lie for shit and while Emma has no question that he is utterly smitten with the small brunette sass that is supposedly his wife-she is certain that they aren't looking for a place to settle down as they claim. They are staying at Granny's and Emma asks Ruby to keep an ear on them.

("Ew, Emma! What the _hell_!"

"They're _lying_. Come on Ruby, please? It'll be like old times."

"I _hated_ old times and you know it"

"No blood this time. I promise. Please?"

" _Fine_. But you owe me.")

When she serves her cocoa the next morning there are dark circles under the brunette's eyes but she mutters that she is right, to meet her at the docks later (the young couple is a couple booths over from she and Killian). Killian raises an eyebrow and Emma gives him a look that says she will explain later.

x

"Everything here is so _off_." It is Daisy's consensus and she is sticking to it. She feels like she's walked into some sort of aggressive planned-community or cult–when she tells Lincoln the way the odd connection of the people of the town makes her neck tingle he rolls his eyes–but he doesn't disagree.

She feels the eyes on them wherever they go. They are outsiders–it doesn't get anymore obvious. These people do not want them here–every one of them knows that they don't belong and everyone of them is suspicious of them.

It gets worse when she catches the blonde who is supposedly the sheriff staring at her again and again over their breakfast. She had given them the _warmest_ greeting when they arrived the day before ("Who the hell are you two?" "…Um. Mary. And Thomas. We're looking to move into town." "Hm.") Prickly. Prickly was the word. Her gaze feels dangerous and probing. When the man opposite her glances over his shoulder at her, too, she looks quickly down to her menu. She isn't sure how, but she is _sure_ they have already been made.

x

It gets weirder because Emma is certain someone follows her to the dock to meet Ruby. She feels eyes prickling on the back of her neck, is sure she hears footsteps–but no matter how frequently she looks over her shoulder there is no one there.

"I didn't get much," Ruby tells her, voice hushed, "they were careful–but I think they made a call. Gave an update to someone. Are we in trouble, Emma?"

"I…don't know."

She does know, and this time when she hears something she doesn't hesitate–throwing a tendril of power over her shoulder as she pivots to face whatever she tangles in her trap. There is a noise of shock and the man–Thomas–is dragged hovering from whatever illusion he was hidden in. He is startled, hair standing oddly on end–and she flicks her wrist, sending him sprawling onto the docks as Ruby makes a noise of shock behind her. He peers up at her with wide eyes but doesn't make any attempt to move.

x

Daisy regrets sending him off alone almost as soon as he has disappeared down the road behind the other blonde, but she tries not to let herself worry. She is a sheriff, an officer–she may think they are liars but whatever she knows, or doesn't know–Daisy doesn't think she is the greatest threat this eerie town has to offer. She wants to investigate the center of the odd readings they'd received–the _portal-esque_ readings they'd received that had brought them here in the first place. She wants to see what is happening in City Hall.

Except, she only gets halfway there before the man who'd had breakfast with the sheriff is blatantly stepping in front of her, single eyebrow raised.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Aye, love–matter of fact, you can."

x

The problem with Storybrooke is that it is, for all intents and purposes, an inactive-volcano–in the case that a volcano spewed Other-Universes instead of lava. It is a portal that has lost its buzz. The problem with that is that when Daisy follows the odd man into the sheriffs station to find Lincoln cuffed to a damn chair, she moves towards him and is blocked by the blonde who is becoming far more than annoying.

"Let me _through_."

"I'll let you through when you tell me what you two are _actually_ doing here."

The problem is that Daisy is protective of her team and Emma is protective of her town and neither of them hear the warnings from the men when the room begins to shiver with their raising voices.

The problem is that suddenly the walls disappear and the ceiling turns green and… they are not in Storybrooke anymore.


	2. Chapter 1

She is dizzy as hell and nothing that is happening makes _sense_ —she's just gone from standing in a sheriff's office to being dumped face first into the dirt floor of a goddamn forest—but she has hardly even landed before she is scampering to her knees, disoriented, scanning the area for Lincoln. Last she had seen him, he'd been _cuffed_ to a chair behind the woman formerly front of her and now…

"Lincoln!"

She coughs his name out, surprising herself when the air in her chest isn't enough to support the force of her yell. She had tumbled down harder than she thought.

But _how_?

There is a crack from beside her and she whips her head around, starting when the source of the noise is connected to the man who had cornered her earlier. He reaches a hand towards her and she moves frantically back, heart pounding as her ass runs into something solid—hand quickly following, palm scraping against hard bark and confirming it to be a tree.

One of the man's eyebrows shoots up quizzically.

"Don't touch me," she snaps, and this time her words come out with far more force as she glowers at his still outstretched hand. She feels violated, scared—unsure of whether they've drugged her, or used some sort of powers on her—but she is certain that letting her guard down is the last thing that she should do.

The odd, off feeling she had observed earlier has somehow intensified into a constant, nervous tingling. There is something about the way the light falls through the leaves of these trees, something about the smell of the air and the feel of the bark beneath her fingers that feels—not _right_.

The man drops his hand slowly, still watching her quietly—sharp eyes reading her expression.

"I don't mean you harm, lass," he says in a voice that is gentler than she expects, moving a step back as if to demonstrate—giving her space. "I don't, however, intend to abandon you in the Enchanted Forest either."

She watches his movements with a trained eye, before scanning the area around them again, slower. Neither Lincoln nor the sheriff seem to be nearby, not judging by the noise they are making—they are alone, and the last time she found herself alone with this man it had been because he was taunting her, informing her Lincoln was being held captive by his other half. She doesn't exactly have the warm-and-fuzzies for the man—however, judging by his knowing tone, he has intel. He knows where they _are_.

She can practically hear May's training echoing in her ear: use your resources. Use _him_.

She feels her gun strapped safely to her hip beneath the leather of her jacket, where she'd latched it as an afterthought that morning. The metal is a comfort and she takes a slow, grounding breath.

He watches her as if he can see the wheels in her mind spinning.

She slowly peels herself off of the ground without his help, keeping her eyes glued on him—trying not to allow them to falter to his shining hook.

"The Enchanted Forest?"

The man's mask of calm flickers, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.

She is trained to notice.

"Hm?"

"The Enchanted forest," she repeats, unfaltering. "It's where you just said you _don't intend to leave me_ ," she mocks his accent, badly, "so I think it's fair to assume that's where we are?"

A faint smile plays at his lips.

"Sharp as a whip, you are."

She shrugs, unwilling yet to let onto just how capable she is.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Another irritating raise of a heavy brow.

"Actually, love—I'm rather convinced you did this."

xxx

Emma thinks she has landed apart from everyone. She has been wandering for a solid minute, opting not to call out for fear of attracting the attention of something other than the pirate. He can't be far—there's no _way_ , they were close enough when the portal had somehow been activated—but still, she is coming up empty.

She is growing frustrated to the point to considering calling out—she has never been alone in the Enchanted Forest—always has had him at her side with all his biting knowledge, for better or for worse. She isn't sure she knows where to begin to get herself back—not without everything he knows, all of his experience.

She trudges a little further, stomping louder—in theory, for him to hear—in actuality, making her feel like a petulant, angry toddler.

She isn't sure she is _not_.

" _Dammit_."

She catches her balance over the protruding tree root—but before she can even steady herself there is a bright flash—and something blue and crackling circles her.

She immediately raises her hands in retaliation, swirling to find the threat as she still struggles to find her center of balance.

" _Don't try it._ "

The blue tendrils around her tighten threateningly, and the hairs on her arms stand on end.

The source of the power is the man, Thomas—who she caught trailing her earlier.

"I'm starting to think you're stalking me," she muses, hoping it is evident in her tone just how unhappy she is to see him.

He is _far_ beyond pissing her off. But the electricity pulses dangerously near her skin and she holds still, glowering back at him, hard.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I will," he tells her, ignoring her comment. His blue gaze is hard and unfaltering. "What did you do with her?"

 _Jesus Christ._

"You have got to be shitting me."

The sharp increase in the buzz around her tells her in no uncertain terms that he is not.

"Kid, look, I don't know. Portal jumping is unpredictable. I don't know where we are. I don't know what caused it. What I do know is that however unfortunate it is, we're stuck together until we figure it out and _threatening_ me is not helping your chances."

His eyes narrow.

"Portal?"

"Does it _look_ like we're still in Storybrooke to you?"

She doesn't actually expect it to work, so when his powers falter and then disappear into the air around her—she thinks her shock might be visible.

"I'm sorry. God, shit—I'm _really_ sorry."

He looks fully genuine and contrite, and it is her turn to narrow her eyes, confused.

"Not that you don't owe it to me for almost turning me into a French fry, but, um—you can give it a rest. It's okay, you were scared, I'm still… _relatively_ rare—I'll get over it."

She blinks when he continues to shake his head regretfully, running a hand through his hair anxiously before peering back at her.

"Could it happen again? Are portals… relatively common around here?"

She can see him piecing things together slowly, puzzling through a picture she is certain she has absolutely none of the pieces to.

She _hates_ being lost.

"Maybe—does that matter?"

He doesn't answer, and she thinks he could use a good jolt of his own powers. She holds her hands firmly at her sides, anyway. She isn't particularly craving a face full of static.

"We… need to find my partner. Now."

She'd like to find her _boyfriend_ but again the uneasiness in the younger man's expression makes her bite her tongue. He is glancing around them, clearly still uncomfortable about their surroundings. Lost.

Emma wishes she could turn around, walk away and just leave him and his goddamn electricity to his own devices but something nags at her heartstrings and she nearly groans out loud.

"Look, they can't be far—either of them. Let's just… start circling. Just no more lightshows, alright Sparkles?"

He lets out an audible breath of relief, nodding once.

"Deal."


End file.
